Enhancing the "Villa of the Mysteries" Exhibition

"The Villa of the Mysteries in Pompeii: Ancient Ritual,
Modern Muse," curated by Elaine Gazda, opened October 1 and
runs through November 19 at both the Kelsey Museum and the University
of Michigan Museum of Art (UMMA). The exhibition, described in
detail in the Kelsey Museum Newsletter for Spring 2000,
focuses on a well-known ancient fresco cycle discovered in 1909
on the walls of a room in the Villa of the Mysteries in Pompeii.
This major exhibition is accompanied by a wide array of related
events and resources.

Website
A virtual version of the Villa exhibition is available on-line
at:

The website offers visitors a preview of the themes and objects
on display while also providing an overview for those who will
not have the opportunity to see the exhibition in person. Designed
to appeal to both scholars and the general public, the website
features a virtual presentation of the exhibition as well as an
interactive virtual tour of the Villa of the Mysteries in Pompeii
and its famous fresco cycle. Still in progress, the website will
also eventually include an interactive Quicktime video that allows
web surfers to view the actual museum galleries with the Villa
show on display. Web visitors are encouraged to explore further
the issues and themes of the exhibition through relevant bibliographies
and links to other internet sites about Pompeii, Roman women,
and Roman religion. The website also provides information on events
planned to coincide with the exhibition, enumerated below.

Created by U-M Classical Art and Archaeology graduate students
Molly Swetnam-Burland and Elizabeth de Grummond with the assistance
of Drew Wilburn, the Villa website is a project of the Kelsey
Museum of Archaeology, developed in conjunction with the Alumni
Association's celebration of 130 years of women at the University
of Michigan. The production of the virtual visit to Pompeii was
sponsored in part by the U-M Institute for Research on Women and
Gender.

Conference
The conference "Ritual, Reception, Response: The Villa of
the Mysteries Revisited" will be held Friday, October 27
through Sunday, October 29 in Angell Hall and UMMA. Sessions include
presentations and discussions by distinguished scholars who will
address women and culture in ancient Italy, sources for the iconography
in the Villa paintings, and new interpretations of the frescoes.
Bettina Bergmann, Professor of the History of Art at Mount Holyoke
College and a specialist in Roman painting, will give the keynote
lecture, "Villa of Riddles: A Century of Fascination,"
Friday, October 27 at 7:30. For more information, call 734-764-9304.

Catalogue
A 262-page catalogue accompanying the exhibition includes thirteen
intrepretive essays by Curator Elaine Gazda, Professor of the
History of Art Diane Kirkpatrick, and graduate students Jessica
Davis, Elizabeth de Grummond, Catherine Hammer, Shoshanna Kirk,
Brenda Longfellow, Molly Swetnam-Burland, and Drew Wilburn. Catalogue
entries describe and illustrate each object in the exhibition.
Five color plates, five color maps, and more than 170 black and
white photographs make this richly illustrated guide to the exhibition
an important resource for anyone interested in the scholarly controversies
surrounding the Villa frescoes. The catalogue will be distributed
by the University of Washington Press.

Educational Kit
As an aid to teachers and fifth-through-twelfth-grade students,
the Kelsey's Curator of Educational Outreach Lauren Talalay and
Program Assistant Todd Gerring have prepared a new traveling educational
kit on Pompeii. The kit focuses on ritual, cults, and the role
of women, with the Villa frescoes providing a focal point. It
includes a teacher's notebook, CD and CD/ROM, slides, videos,
twelve books, coins and artifact reproductions, as well as interactive
materials. Rental is $20 per ten-day session. Call 734-647-4167
for further information.

Lectures
Several talks help to put the installation in context. In her
opening lecture on October 2, the show's curator, Elaine Gazda,
gave attendees a slide-illustrated introduction to the themes
of the exhibition and the objects on display. Her curator's talk
on October 8 stressed the ideas and discoveries that culminated
in this exhibition. A gallery talk on October 5 by Brenda Longfellow,
a Ph.D. candidate in Classical Art and Archaeology who helped
research and organize the exhibition, guided visitors on a personalized
tour of the show.

To illustrate how the Villa murals have influenced contemporary
artists, Ruth Weisberg, Dean of Fine Arts at the University of
Southern California, will speak about her 28-foot mixed media
drawing, Initiation, which was inspired by the Villa frescoes
and is featured in the exhibition. Sponsored by the U-M Institute
for the Humanities, Department of Classical Studies, and Program
in Comparative Literature, Weisberg's lecture is scheduled for
Thursday, October 26, 5:00 p.m. at UMMA.

Community Day
A Celebration of Ancient Roman Culture, held Sunday, October 15,
from 1 to 5 p.m. at both museums, gives the whole family an opportunity
to learn something about the context for the Villa exhibition.
Participants can make a fresco or mosaic, learn about volcanos
and daily life in Pompeii through a scavenger hunt, hear accounts
of the volcanic explosion that buried Pompeii in AD 79, see a
modern dance interpretation of the frieze, or watch a play based
on Pliny's letters. Visitors are also invited to bring their own
twentieth-century artifact (no bigger than a toaster) and enter
the stump-the-future-archaeologist contest. Admission is free,
and all ages are welcome.

Teacher Workshop
On Thursday, October 19, from 4 to 7:30 p.m. teachers are invited
to a workshop that includes a tour of the Villa exhibition, hands-on
activities, and a discussion. Participants receive a comprehensive
packet of information, including lesson plan ideas and slides
for classroom use. A $20 fee includes the packet and a light supper.
For further information, call Debbie Swartz at 734-647-0522.